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Clarity is the bottleneck, not compute. GSWD produces bulletproof specs so you can one-shot the build.

GSWD is the thinking stage before GSD builds. The bottleneck in building with AI isn't the AI — it's feeding it a spec that's complete, traceable, and unambiguous. GSWD forces that rigor upfront so you can hand off a GSD contract and build the first time, without guessing.

Pipeline

IMAGINE  ->  SPECIFY  ->  AUDIT  ->  COMPILE
   |            |           |           |
Direction    Spec+IDs   Coverage   GSD Contract

1. IMAGINE — turn a fuzzy idea into a validated product direction
2. SPECIFY — turn that direction into a build-ready, traceable spec
3. AUDIT — enforce full coverage (no missing journeys, no orphan requirements)
4. COMPILE — deterministically generate the GSD contract files

Install

npx gswd-install

Copies /gswd:* slash commands to ~/.claude/commands/gswd/ for use in Claude Code.

Quick Start

/gswd:start

That's it. Describe your idea conversationally — GSWD walks you through the full pipeline.

Have an idea file already?

/gswd:start @idea.md

What It Looks Like

$ /gswd:start

Describe your product idea (or press Enter to type it out):
> A task management app for remote teams with async standups
> and no meeting culture overhead.

Got it. Let me confirm before we begin:

  Product: Async standup and task coordination tool for remote teams
  Angle:   No meeting overhead — async-first by design

Does this capture your idea? [yes]

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  IMAGINE — Validating direction              │
│  Running research agents...                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  Researching market landscape...
  Analyzing ICP and GTM angles...
  Freezing key decisions...

  ✓ DECISIONS.md
  ✓ IMAGINE.md  ICP.md  GTM.md  COMPETITION.md

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  SPECIFY — Building execution-grade spec     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  ✓ SPEC.md  JOURNEYS.md  ARCHITECTURE.md
  ✓ INTEGRATIONS.md  NFR.md

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  AUDIT — Checking spec coverage              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  Checking journeys... PASS
  Checking requirements... PASS
  Checking architecture linkage... PASS

  ✓ AUDIT.md — PASS

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  COMPILE — Generating GSD contract           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  ✓ PROJECT.md  REQUIREMENTS.md  ROADMAP.md  STATE.md

  Done! Run /gsd:plan-phase 01 to start building.

Commands

Primary Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | /gswd:start | Full pipeline: intake -> imagine -> specify -> audit -> compile | | /gswd:status | Show pipeline status and stage progress | | /gswd:settings | Configure GSWD workflow settings | | /gswd:help | Show command reference |

Advanced Commands

Run stages individually if you need finer control:

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | /gswd:imagine [@idea.md] | Validate direction and freeze key decisions | | /gswd:specify | Build execution-grade spec with traceable IDs | | /gswd:audit-spec | Audit spec for coverage — produces PASS/FAIL | | /gswd:compile | Compile spec into GSD contract docs |

Common Flags

| Flag | Available On | Description | |------|-------------|-------------| | --auto | /gswd:start, imagine, specify | Auto mode — minimal interruptions | | --resume | /gswd:start, imagine, specify, audit-spec | Resume from last checkpoint | | --skip-research | /gswd:start, imagine | Disable research agents | | --auto-fix | audit-spec | Auto-fix gaps found during audit | | --phase-style=thin\|thick | compile | Phase sizing for GSD roadmap | | --policy=<name> | /gswd:start | Auto policy: strict, balanced, aggressive |

Output Artifacts

GSWD artifacts (in .planning/)

• IMAGINE.md — product vision and direction
• ICP.md — ideal customer profile
• GTM.md — go-to-market strategy
• COMPETITION.md — competitive landscape
• DECISIONS.md — frozen decisions, success metrics, risks
• SPEC.md — full product specification
• JOURNEYS.md — user journeys with traceable IDs
• ARCHITECTURE.md — system architecture
• INTEGRATIONS.md — external integrations
• NFR.md — non-functional requirements
• AUDIT.md — coverage matrix and PASS/FAIL verdict

Compiled GSD contract (in .planning/)

• PROJECT.md — project context
• REQUIREMENTS.md — scoped requirements
• ROADMAP.md — phased execution plan
• STATE.md — project memory

After GSWD

Once compile is done, hand off to GSD:

/gsd:plan-phase 01

GSD picks up the compiled contract and builds phase by phase.

CLI Usage

GSWD also ships a CLI for scripting and non-interactive workflows:

gswd imagine @idea.md
gswd specify
gswd audit
gswd compile
gswd status

License

MIT